It is shaping up to be a busy holiday season for Manchester United.
Ruben Amorim’s side will return from the international break on November 24 and host Everton and former United manager David Moyes before
traveling to Crystal Palace, who have not lost at home vs. an English side since February. United will then face off against relegation-addled West Ham and Wolves before taking on Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Newcastle. After closing out 2025 with a home match vs. Wolves, United will then host Leeds and Burnley before hosting Manchester City on January 17 – they won’t have another genuine break until a 10-day gap between their matches vs. Burnley and City. It’s all hands on deck for United as they look to survive a packed fixture list, and they’ll be counting on Mason Mount to bring his brilliant best.
Born in Portsmouth, England, Mount joined Chelsea in 2005 and rose through the ranks before eventually being loaned out to Vitesse Arnhem in the Eredivisie and Derby County in the EFL Championship. After leading Derby to the verge of promotion to the Premier League, Mount signed a new five-year contract with Chelsea and finally broke into the Chelsea first team. Mount became the first Chelsea academy graduate to complete 50 appearances in the same season of his first-team debut, chipping in with some major big-game contributions from a goal in a 3-1 win vs. Manchester United in the FA Cup semifinals to securing Chelsea’s Champions League qualification with a goal vs. Wolves on the final day of the campaign. He took it a step further in 2020/21, becoming the youngest Chelsea player to score in the Champions League knockout round, scoring in the semifinal vs. Real Madrid and the final vs. Manchester City, and spearheading Chelsea to their second Champions League title.
After a stellar year that saw him named Chelsea’s Player of the Year, finish 19th in the Ballon d’Or rankings, and win the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, Mount enjoyed a career-best 2021/22 that saw him become the fifth Chelsea player and the youngest to hit double figures in goals and assists with 13 goals and 16 assists in 53 appearances, before jetting off for Qatar, where he emerged as one of the breakthrough midfield sensations of the 2022 FIFA World Cup alongside the likes of Enzo Fernandez, Kellyn Acosta and Azzedine Ounahi. However, the 2022/23 season would see Mount’s goal-scoring numbers dry up under Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter, with the Englishman racking up just 3 goals and 6 assists in 35 appearances before missing the final three months of the campaign with a pelvic contusion. Little did he know it, but that would be his final action in a Chelsea shirt.
Mount joined Manchester United on July 5, 2023, penning a five-year contract with the option to extend for a further year, with the Red Devils shelling out £55 million and a potential £5 million in add-ons. However, he was unable to deliver in his rookie campaign due to injury woes, making just 20 appearances (756 minutes) in 2023/24, before missing a significant chunk of time in the 2024/25 season with hamstring issues and making just 26 appearances (952 minutes). Whilst Mount managed to return for the home stretch and score a goal vs. Brentford and a brace vs. Lyon, he was unable to lead United to victory in their biggest match of the season as Tottenham Hotspur prevailed 1-0 in the UEFA Europa League Final.
Missing out on European competition could very well end up proving to be a blessing in disguise for the Red Devils and particularly Mount. At nearly 27 years of age, Mason Mount has already played 333 senior matches at the club level and 36 at the international level, and it’s evident that this fixture congestion has taken a toll on his body. Right now, the biggest thing that Mount needs is to rest and recover and get a breather, rather than having to play every 3-4 days and being forced to undergo a quick turnaround. Rather than being stretched thin, Mount is getting the chance to gradually working his way back to full fitness. He started United’s first three matches before missing the Manchester Derby with a knock, followed by substitute cameos vs. Chelsea and Brentford.
He returned to the starting line-up vs. Sunderland, where he needed just a few seconds to justify his coach’s trust after deftly controlling a cross from Bryan Mbuemo with his left foot before using his right to curl home the opening goal in a 2-0 win. It was a reminder of why, just a few years ago, the game’s leading pundits like Hercules Gomez, Dave Johnson and James Horncastle were declaring Mount to be one of the top attacking midfielders in world football, and it seemed to be a sign of things to come, with Mount being entrusted with an hour-long shift vs. Liverpool. Instead, Mount would end up spending the next two matches on the bench before returning to the fold in North London, replacing Matheus Cunha for the final 24 minutes of their 2-2 draw at Tottenham Hotspur.
Both United and Mount are a long way from the zeniths that they conquered not too long ago, but both can help each other get back on track and find their way back to the promised land. Whilst Mount doesn’t have a straightforward path back to the starting line-up, he nevertheless has what it takes to start playing regularly and contributing to United’s redemption project. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it; with Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbuemo, Benjamin Sesko and Amad Diallo vying for the attacking trio, and with Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes holding it down in the double pivot, it seems unlikely that Mount will be able to reinsert himself into the starting XI over a long-term basis. However, that doesn’t mean he can’t play a pivotal role in their ambitions and potentially elevate him back to an England return, having not played for the Three Lions since the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
United currently sit seventh in the Premier League table, level on 18 points with Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, Liverpool, and Bournemouth, and if they are to beat out the competition for an elusive Champions League spot, they will need Mount to stay fit and raring to go. After all, the biggest ability is none other than availability.
